


Infinite

by Winchestergirl123



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: F/F, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-13
Updated: 2019-02-13
Packaged: 2019-10-27 09:39:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 17,856
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17764361
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Winchestergirl123/pseuds/Winchestergirl123
Summary: Grace Stark's life is anything but normal. Ever since her dad became Iron Man, an endless amount of extraordinary people have entered her life. However, it's the boy with the warm brown eyes that's left the most lasting impression in her heart. Eventual Peter Parker/OC. Starts in Iron Man and will follow the Avengers main story-line.





	1. The start to a story

**2008**

"She hates me you know."

What Tony said caught Pepper's attention. The red haired woman was just about to go back upstairs, right after firmly reminding Tony that he needed to get ready for his flight. A flight that he was already an hour late for. Rhodey was sure not happy having to wait for his ass to get there. And for good reason. Tony was supposed to show a weapons demonstration in Afghanistan but what was he doing instead of getting ready? The billionaire was casually hanging out downstairs in his lab.

Pepper had made sure to lecture him on that. Except like always, Tony just let her say what she wanted as he did the occasional head nod and playful side comments. When she had said her part, Pepper was ready to leave. However, his sudden humorless voice and demeanor made her stop from leaving. Pepper processed what he just said to her and it didn't take long for her to know just who exactly he was talking about.

Grace. His daughter.

It hurt Pepper to hear Tony's thoughts on how the sweet little dark eyed girl hated him. Sure, Grace was still shy around him but she didn't hate him. Pepper didn't think so. Just as she was about to give him her reassurance, Tony continued to speak, glum.

"She barely talks to me."

That along with saying Grace hated him got Pepper's facial features to soften. "She does not hate you." She gently told him. "And as for the talking part...well, she's getting better at it with you."

Tony sighed, aghast. He briefly looked up from the car part he had been working on. "Doesn't seem that way to me."

Sensing he needed more comfort than usual, Pepper walked back over to him. Her heels clicking the lab's floor as she did so. "She just needs more time, Tony." She tried softly reassuring him. And that was what she honestly thought Grace and him needed. More time. Grace needed extra time to adjust. She had just been five years old when her mother died of Leukemia. And not that long afterwards she got placed under Tony's custody. Her father. It hadn't been an easy change for either of them. Tony had to fight his careless playboy ways now that he had a child around. As for Grace...well, she had to get used to living in a new place with someone she barely knew. Which was a challenge as Pepper and Tony had come to find out.

Pepper's words did nothing to sooth Tony. Not like he hoped they would. He continued to tinker with the car part. "She's been with me for a year now, Pepper." He solemnly said to her. Those dark eyes she had come to realize were the same one's Grace had glanced up at her again. "And she has yet to call me dad." Tony's voice dropped, wretched. "At night I can still hear her...crying. Calling out her mom's name." He shook his head again, despondent. His eyes lowered, hurt. "She doesn't want me. She wants her...Louisa."

Pepper felt her own heart ache from seeing Tony so crestfallen. Having spent so much time at Tony's place here in Malibu, she had gotten used to spending the night because of Grace. She was the one that always went into Grace's room whenever she heard the little girl cry in the middle of the night. Tony had tried soothing Grace a few times before but the results were never good. It was only Pepper who could get her to stop crying and go back to sleep. Pepper knew this made Tony second guess taking responsibility over Grace. He didn't say this out-loud often, but Tony Stark was disappointed in himself for not being able to connect with his own daughter. In his mind he was failing her. Except no matter how much he was ashamed in himself for "failing" Grace, Pepper was always there to reminded him of one very important detail.

"Well, you're the only person she has left."

There was brief silence, with the two adults looking at each other, before Tony spoke again. "She has her uncle." Tony lowly brought up. Although that was the truth, Tony had no idea why he even mentioned that to Pepper. He knew very well that Louisa's younger brother, Miguel García was not child guardian material. Miguel lacked responsibility. Tony did too (although he was getting better at it), but he wasn't as emotionally messed up as Miguel was. Louisa's younger brother had his own issues to deal with. Tony had offered to help him many times once Grace came into his life, but Miguel García was a stubborn man. So him refusing help made Tony not want Grace anywhere near her uncle's disruptive behavior. Having Grace near her uncle would just put her in danger. And it would stay that way until Miguel changed his ways.

Pepper wanted to full on lecture Tony for even suggesting that but she instead fixed him a hard look. "And you think she'd be better off with him?" She asked sternly. Tony might not realize it now (like Pepper did) but Grace staying with him was for the better. The dark eyed girl was exactly where she was supposed to be...with her father.

"No, I don't want her to go with him." Tony vehemently admitted to Pepper. "I don't want her to go with anyone else. I just..." He let out a sigh. "I want her to trust and be open with me."

"And she will." Pepper replied. Her mother hen protectiveness towards Grace lessened when she heard Tony say this. "Have patience."

Tony huffed, returning back to his childish like ways. "You know full well that waiting is not my forte."

Pepper felt a bit better that he was now his usual lighthearted self again. "Yes, I'm quite aware but I know that you'd be willing to try. For her."

Pepper got him there. Tony would be willing to wait. Despite feeling sad that his daughter wasn't openhearted with him, Tony would give her all the time she needed until she fully accepted him into her life.

"You should tell her you're going to be leaving soon." Pepper once again reminded him.

That brought Tony out of his thoughts. He put aside the car part he had been working on and stood up. Wiping his hands with a rag that was on the table next to him, he called Pepper's name.

The redhead who was once again making her way out turned to look at him. "Yes?"

"Thank you. For your kinds words, shall we say." Tony earnestly said to her. It wasn't often that Tony Stark thanked people but whenever he did he would be as genuine as possible. And he definitely meant what he said with Pepper.

Pepper smiled. "That's what I'm here for."

Tony knew she wasn't there for offering advice or words of reassurance, but nonetheless he was glad that she took the time to actually engage in conversation about his daughter. It showed just how much Pepper Potts cared about Grace. And despite not saying it verbally yet, having Pepper care deeply for Grace left a warm feeling inside Tony.

* * *

Tony didn't need to ask Pepper or even Jarvis to know Grace's location. His daughter was exactly where he was expecting her to be at.

Her room. Which was her main hang out place.

It didn't take long for Tony to reach said destination. When he did he noticed right away how her bedroom door was wide open. Tony casually leaned against the opening as let his eyes wander around said bedroom.

When Tony got guardianship over Grace, he had a lot of learning to do regarding on how to handle kids in a short amount of time. Unfortunately, no matter all the books he read about "raising kids" none gave him an idea on how no to set up a little girls bedroom. He almost had the room painted pink but (luckily) one of the many things he had come to learn about Grace was that she didn't like the color pink. So when he finally admitted defeat and asked Pepper if she could help redecorate Grace's bedroom, she had taken great joy and was excited in doing so.

And thanks to Pepper, Grace got her dream room. The smile and little dance and shouts of "Thank you! Thank you!" she did when stepping in the room for the first time since the redecoration was a memory Tony would always keep with him. Grace had looked so happy.

Tony had to admit the bedroom was a perfect reflection of Grace's personality. Instead of painting the room pink, it had been painted a nice shade of blue. As it turned out Grace loved the color blue almost as she loved the color red. The room of course had the standard furniture along with closet space and a TV. Except as Pepper had told him, the one thing Grace loved about her room was the view of the Malibu ocean. Pepper said it made her feel inspiration when drawing and painting. Which was what she was doing at the moment.

With a soft look in his eyes, Tony watched at how peaceful his daughter looked as she painted away. She was currently sitting down at the desk her bedroom had and all of her concentration was on the paper she was using to paint on. Tony for sure knew that she didn't get those artistic skills from him. Sure he could draw but his skills were average and he didn't have a passion for art. Grace must have gotten that from Louisa instead. Tony remembered during their time together, all those years ago that Louisa had a thriving passion for the arts. Like mother, like daughter he supposed.

As Tony also had come to find out, Grace loved to read. That was yet another quality she must have gotten from her mother. In fact, Grace's bedroom was filled with a ton of different books. The genres differed drastically. And despite being just only six years old, Tony knew for certain that Grace already has read all of her books more then twice. Including the new one he had bought her just a few days ago.

Charlotte's Web.

Now Tony knew the story had a rather sad ending, and because of that he was unsure on whether to give it to Grace. Except all the worry he had about bringing up even more sad emotions up to the surface went away when Grace had thanked him for the gift. Tony had to admit he was left surprised that she actual spoke to him. Or actually it more to do with the way she sounded when she spoke. She didn't sound shy...or even cautious. She sounded and appeared to be delighted. Which was something Tony always wanted her to be. Tony felt even more relief when a few days passed and he saw no other emotional change that the book might have had on Grace. She stayed the exact same way.

Now even though Grace's door was open, Tony forced himself to do the polite thing and knocked.

Grace reacted quickly. The hand that was holding the paint brush gently laid said item down onto her desk as she lifted her gaze towards him.

Tony smiled at the fact that she was keeping eye contact with him. "Hey, kiddo." He greeted her.

A few seconds passed before Grace was able to reply. "Hi." She whispered shyly.

There had been many times before when he's asked her about her drawings and paintings, and every-time he did so, Grace would give him a closed off answer. Still...Tony wanted to ask. In hopes that maybe, just maybe she would say something more meaningful this time.

"What are you working on?" He asked gesturing towards her desk.

Grace looked unsure for a moment there, and Tony thought she was going to brush off his question yet again. However, to his immense surprise and relief, she carefully lifted up the painting she had been working on.

Tony blinked a few times. This was certainly a first. It wasn't often that she actually willing let him see what she's been working on. He remembered the first time he had asked she gone completely still and quiet. But now here she was...showing him. This was a good sign indeed. He took the most of this moment and walked over to where she was sitting at.

When he took a knee to get a better view of the painting he noticed the details of it. The painting was one of a strange pretty looking flower. However, it was the color that got to him. It was a soft looking reddish orange. In a way it reminded Tony of Pepper's hair color. He decided that it was a beautiful color.

"It's a chrysanthemum." Grace said struggling a little when saying the name of the flower. She decided to elaborate the name of the flower because she how he had been gazing intently at it. Maybe he couldn't tell what kind of flower it was, so she decided to tell him. About a week ago she had read a book about flowers. There were all sorts of pretty looking flowers in the book but the chrysanthemum was one that stuck with her. Mainly because the color of the flower reminded Grace of Pepper's hair.

"It's very pretty." Tony complimented. "You going to add it to your painting collection?"

Grace shook her head, bashful. "No...it's for Pepper. A gift for her birthday." She told him as she carefully set the painting back down.

Tony couldn't help but smile when he heard that. That was such a nice gesture coming from Grace. Not surprising though. When Grace came into his life last year, it didn't take long for Grace to warm up to Pepper. It had been instantaneously. Whereas he was still trying to gain her trust and affections. For instance when he first got guardianship over Grace, Tony was worried with her lack of speaking. He thought that maybe she had autism or something. Which was a strong possibility considering the terrible health history her mom's side of the family had.

However, that assumption of her having autism was quickly pushed to the side within the first days of custody. As it turned out Grace was very talkative. She talked with Pepper, Rhodey, and even with Happy whenever they were around her. Whereas with Tony she kept the conversation short or nonexistent. There was one other person Grace didn't like talking to and that was with Obadiah Stane. Tony had come to find out that Grace was even more quiet whenever Obadiah was around. When she found the chance, Grace always bolted whenever the bald headed man was in the room. Tony couldn't help but feel bewildered by this but he chalked it up to Grace just being her usual shy self.

"So, listen..." Tony trailed on causing Grace to look at him curiously. He knew he'd have to tell her about his departure now. "I have to leave. There's something I gotta do for work."

Grace looked at him, staying silent. She didn't say anything to him but after a few seconds she ended up nodding her head. Since coming to live with Tony, Grace had sadly gotten used to seeing him leave. Grace tried thinking happy thoughts, telling herself that he would come back and not go away like her mom had. He wasn't sick. He just had to do work stuff. He'd come back. Besides, Pepper would still be here with her.

"I'll be back in a couple of days." Tony continued to speak...hoping to see any other sort of reaction from her aside from her nodding...but he didn't. After another few seconds though she did speak again.

"Okay." Grace faintly replied.

Tony sighed. He knew this was all he was going to get from her. Giving her a forced small smile, he went to stand up again. A soft touch to one of his hands though stopped him from doing so. He looked at Grace, slightly puzzled by the sudden contact. He was about to ask if something was wrong but no words came out when he saw her open and close the desk drawer. He was curious to see what she took out and once he saw what it was his heart warmed up.

It was another painting. This one was already dry and done. It was a painting of the ocean. Based on the details, Tony knew it was no ordinary ocean painting, but one of the view Grace got from her bedroom. When he had stayed silent and made no action to take the painting, Grace gently handed the painting to him. From what she was able to understand with her time with him so far he wasn't a fan of being handed things...but she looked past that at this moment. As did Tony.

"It's for you." Grace softly told him. It had been weeks now since she had finished the painting but she hadn't found the courage to give it to him. She was afraid he wasn't going to like it...she just wanted to make something for him. Something to let him know how much he meant to her. She couldn't find the words yet to express her feeling but perhaps the painting would do for now.

Tony was beyond touched. He was rejoining on the inside. It was finally happening...Grace was opening up to him. She didn't have to right away speak non-stop to know this. The painting was enough for him to understand what she was trying to tell him. "Thank you." He said looking at the painting and then at her. A genuine smile then appeared on his face. "I love it."

Adding more to his happiness, Tony saw Grace's lips turn upwards. A smile, one that was only for him, settled onto her youthful face.

Testing out the waters of being a father, Tony decided to go for an affectionate kind of gesture. It wasn't a hug but in his mind he thought it was just as good as one. Using one of his fingers, he gently poked Grace's right cheek where one of her dimples was displayed. When he did this it caused for her smile to grow bigger. A giggle escaped her causing Tony's own smile to expand as well. "I'll see you soon, okay?"

Controlling her behavior, Grace nodded her head. "Okay." She quietly replied before she went back to painting again.

Tony left with a much happier mood than when he first came in. As he walked to his own room to pack his belongings, Tony carefully kept a hold onto the painting Grace just gave him. He kept telling himself that this was progress. This was very good progress. Tony couldn't wait to finish this weapons demonstration. The sooner he came back home to Grace, the better his chances of building a father-daughter relationship with her would be.


	2. An emotional reunion

Laying in her bed crying her eyes out for what felt like the tenth time that day, was six year old Grace Stark.

Her heart kept breaking into smaller pieces as two words kept going over and over in her head.

Missing.

Dead.

That's what she kept hearing. Those two words especially hurt her emotionally whenever she overheard people talk about her dad.

Her dad who had been missing for three months now. Ever since he left for that work thing in Afghanistan. His absence affected Grace dearly. The dark eyed little girl was absolutely heartbroken.

For three months now, Grace kept thinking back to the last time she had seen him...Tony _―_ her dad. When she had given him that ocean painting she made just for him. A painting she made with all her heart. Why didn't she hug him? Or least told him she loved him because she did. Despite Grace telling not her dad she loved him, she did with all her heart. So why did she let her shyness get the better of her? Her dad had been so nice to her and she'd done nothing but be closed off with him.

Grace regretted everything. She regretted not accepting her dad sooner. She regretted not being more nicer to him. She regretted rejecting the many opportunities she had to spend time with him. And she deeply regretted not saying,  _"I love you, dad." T_ hat's what she regretted the most out of everything.

If her mom Louisa was still alive, Grace knew she would have been disappointed with her behavior towards her dad. Her mom had said nothing but kind things about her dad before she passed away.

Grace felt tears fall down her cheeks. She sniffled as she pulled her blankets closer to her. Her bed had never felt so good and bad before.

Thinking about her mom made Grace feel even more sad. Not only was her mom gone, but now so was her dad. Grace felt like she was all alone in the world.

But she wasn't. Despite her parents being gone (her dad technically still considered missing...although many people believed he was dead), Grace wasn't completely alone. The dark haired and dark eyed little girl still had Pepper Potts.

Pepper...who Grace was loving more and more as the days passed. Her dad's assistant had been taking care of her since his departure. Which was something Grace was thankful for because if it weren't for Pepper, Grace would have been stuck with Obadiah Stane. Her dad's partner who had spoken to Grace a few days later when her dad hadn't returned home.

Obadiah had expressed his sorrow (much like everyone else had been doing), telling Grace that he felt awful for what was happening. He told her he wouldn't mind being the one to watch over her...just until things settled down. Grace did not like that at all. Her dad's partner really made her uncomfortable.

Grace did not like being near him, and even though he said he expressed sorrow for her dad's disappearance, she couldn't help but feel as if he wasn't being one hundred percent sincere. An instinct (one her mom always told her to follow) told Grace not to trust him. So she didn't. Not since the moment she met him.

Luckily for Grace, Pepper had informed her of some fancy smancy paper work her dad had left behind...in case anything bad were to happen to him. Grace being just six years of age did not completely understand the whole purpose of those so called paper works, but she wasn't complaining because it got her to stay with Pepper instead of with Obadiah.

Even though being with Pepper was a good thing (and the better option), Grace kept thinking about her Uncle Miguel. Her mom's younger brother who was supposed to be there for her. With her dad gone now, rightfully it was supposed to be her Uncle Miguel who was the next one in line to take care of her...but he wasn't and Grace just being a little kid didn't understand why that was. She asked Pepper this question but the redhead's response had always been brief or totally ignored. Grace didn't know why her Uncle Miguel didn't take responsibility of her.

From what Grace was able to remember her Uncle Miguel was a nice and funny guy. She had liked him a lot when growing up with her mom. Her memories of him were foggy but there was one that really stood out the most. It was a memory of him and her at a park. With her on the swings and him pushing her, higher and higher. The both of them had been smiling and laughing. It was a nice memory...a happy one. At least that's what was going around in her head.

Despite not being totally clear, everything Grace was able to remember about her Uncle Miguel were good memories. Sadly, it wouldn't be until Grace was older that she'd know the real reason why her mom, dad, and even Pepper had been wary of her Uncle Miguel being near her. It was a heart-wrenching realization that would be devastating for her.

Thinking about her now distant uncle, as she thought about her mom and dad made Grace even more sad. Her crying intensified as the heart-wrenching noise filled her bedroom. The crying didn't stop. Not even when Pepper came into the room to comfort her, just as she had been doing for the past three months. Being in Pepper's arms just reminded her of her mom...and thinking about her mom made Grace think about her dad.

And that just made her distressed state increase.

Finally after what felt like  _hours_ , Grace fell asleep. The little girl cried herself to sleep in Pepper's arms. Pepper looked down at the now calm and sleeping child and her heart broke all over again. It pained Pepper to see Grace is such a downhearted state. At the beginning she thought that maybe she would have been able to calm her down like she had done in the past when she cried about her mom, but no matter what Pepper did she knew there wouldn't be a cure to her unhappiness this time. There was only one way for Grace would rise from her sadness.

And that would be for Tony to return.

Pepper had to hold in her own tears this time because she knew that was now an impossible wish to come true. Tony, her eccentric over the top but pleasant boss, had been missing now for three months and the hope for him to return kept decreasing as each day passed.

Still...Pepper held onto that hope. No matter how foolish it was to others. She had to remain hopeful... for Grace.

* * *

_Painting._

_Reading._

_Practicing her writing and cursive skills._

_Learning how to ride a bike._

_Learning Spanish._

Grace Stark had come to learn that when a person is sad the best way to distract them from that sadness they were feeling was by doing actives. Actives that were considered fun and made them temporarily forget about the bad things in life. At least that's what Grace understood from Pepper and Rhodey.

And despite her moments of crying and heart ache, there were tiny moments when Grace had managed to engage in those listed activities in the past three months. Painting and reading were already something Grace had been doing. And because she put more time into painting and reading, her skills improved. However, Pepper had been the one who suggested she'd practice her writing, including her cursive. Even though Grace found that to be boring at first, she eventually found some type of peacefulness when it came to writing things in cursive. From her young perspective it made things look more grown up. As for learning how to ride a bike, that was all Rhodey. He had encouraged her to learn how to ride a bike and that he'd be willing to teach her...and he did. Throughout the whole process, Grace had been unsure because weren't dad's supposed to teach their kids to ride their bikes?

Despite this unsure feeling, Grace went along with it and within a few days she knew how to ride a bike.

Now as for learning Spanish that was all on Grace. Learning Spanish was something she always wanted to do because of her mom. Growing up with her mom the first five years of her life, Grace was able to remember some Spanish words but she didn't fully understand the language. And even though Grace was just six years old, she wanted to learn...and so she did. Even if learning Spanish made her think of her mom, and in return uncle, and dad...she'd be willing to go throw the sadness in order to learn her mom's native language.

Before settling on learning Spanish, Grace had tried reading a book about building small miniature cars. They weren't real cars, but toy ones. Still, as she had come to learn it was nevertheless difficult. She knew her dad had a passion with building and fixing stuff...like cars. So she tried doing something like that but no matter how much she tried, Grace couldn't get into it. She got the reading part down (as she always did) but the actual building part had been difficult and Grace failed miserably. Failing just made her feel stupid...her dad was smart in these things, and from what she was able to understand her Grandfather Howard had been smart as well. They were both smart, so why wasn't she? Why couldn't she be an expert in math and science like she was with reading and writing? She felt like she was failing her whole dad's side the family, but most importantly she felt like she was failing herself.

It wasn't until few days passed from her recent break down with Pepper, that things took a turn...for the better. Grace was inside her bedroom, once again reading another book about building miniature cars. And despite processing the words quickly, Grace knew that when the time came she would fail the building part. Just like always. Grace huffed feeling her frustration grow. Her eyes were beginning to get watery from feeling like such a dummy when she heard her door open.

Grace knew who it was because there was only one person at the Malibu house. So she wasn't surprised to see Pepper in her bedroom. What had her bemused (besides the sudden entrance with no knock) was the way she looked. Pepper's eyes were slightly red, and Grace could tell she had been crying. It had been a face that reflected her own. However, it was the small smile that was on Pepper's face that made Grace realize those tears weren't sad ones.

"Grace..." Pepper said, her voice sounding the most relieved in three months. "Rhodey just called me. They found him." Her light green eyes soften even more as she looked into Grace's dark eyes. "Your dad's been found. He's alive."

It didn't even feel like second passed before Grace reacted. Never in her life had Grace acted so fast. She had jumped out of her seat, dropping the book she had been reading and forgetting it as she hurriedly made her way towards Pepper. She came to a halt once she was in front of her.

"He's alive?" Grace asked, her voice trembling from emotion.

Pepper nodded her head as tears went down her cheeks. "Yes, he's alive."

Tony was alive...her  _dad_  was alive. Grace's breathing was going out of control, half from excitement, and the other from shock. Fighting through the urge to pinch herself to see if this was a dream or not, Grace decided to grab onto one of Pepper's hands. "I want to see him. Please. I need to see him."

Pepper gave her hand a soft squeeze. "We are. He's on his way with Rhodey. Happy is going to drive us to the air base and we're going to meet him there. Don't worry. Everything's okay now. Your dad's back."

Those last three words Pepper said repaired her broken heart. And Grace for the first time in thee months smiled...and she genuinely meant it.

Her dad was back.

* * *

Grace was nervous. Her stomach was doing weird flips and she kept shifting her feet. Clear signs of nervousness and no matter how much Pepper tried reassuring her not to be, Grace just couldn't stop feeling nervous.

Ever since she left the house, her excitement and shock wore down and nervousness soon invaded her. Outside and inside, especially now that she was with Pepper and Happy at the airbase. Waiting for her dad...and it wouldn't be until five minutes later (after getting there) that the huge air base plane that had dad and Rhodey landed. And when it did, Grace's heart rate rate didn't increase...not until she actually saw him.

Slowly walking out of the plane, with Rhodey helping along the way was her dad. From where Grace was standing next to Pepper, she could see her dad was wearing one of his usual suits. However, she could also see the arm sling he had for one of his arms, along with a few cuts on his face.

It hurt to see her dad look so broken in a way. Except Grace refused to focus on that negative aspect and instead she thought of the positive result. Her dad was alive...and he was here. Any well put behavior one would consider lady like left her. Grace let out a small cry before she ran towards her dad. Her heart taking control of her actions.

With a emotionally star-struck expression, Pepper watched as the dark haired girl ran towards Tony. Even Happy, who had been lingering back watched heavily interested as the heart warming scene between father and daughter played out.

_"Dad!"_

Seeing Grace running towards them had Rhodey come to a gentle stop. Tony had been beyond ecstatic to see his daughter again. The same daughter who had showed up in his life unexpectedly, but such a surprise was now not of importance. After being captive for three months all he really thought about was seeing his daughter again. Now here he was in her presence again. And to hear her say that word, dad, that one word he had been hoping to hear since he first got custody of her had him thinking he was in some sort of dream. But he wasn't...this was real life. This was actually happening.

Now that she was closer to, Tony wanted to desperately hug Grace. And you know what? He was gong to. Damn the pain. He wanted to hug his daughter. Once she was close enough, Tony (with the help of Rhodey) got down on one of his knees and using his good arm he brought Grace into a hug.

Of course she accepted the hug. She carefully wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face there. She felt something on her dad's chest when she hugged him and it felt warm...sort of like a light bulb when touched but she was too emotionally invested in the reunion to raise any questions yet.

Grace felt tears run down her cheeks. "Dad, I'm sorry for not saying I love you." She cried out. "I do love you. I love you so much." Her voice wavered as she said this. "Please, don't ever leave again. Please don't."

Tony slowly and carefully returned the hug. Hearing those words she said...those heart-warming words had Tony's eyes glistening. "Ssh, it's alright, sweetheart." He softly answered her. "I'm here now. Everything's fine. I  _promise_  never to leave you again." He earnestly told her, once again ignoring the pain he was feeling as he continued to hug his daughter.

As this was happening, Yinsen's words rang in Tony's head.

_"Don't waste your life."_

And now that he was back home reunited with his daughter again, Tony wasn't about to let Yinsen's sacrifice go without action. Tony was given a second chance, and he wasn't going to let that go to waste. Not with his work and certainly not with his daughter.


	3. Lighthearted and serious

After the heartwarming reunion with his daughter, Tony quickly morphed back into his nonchalant demeanor once he realized there was someone else he had to reunite with. Someone who he had missed  _dearly_  and knew he owed a lot of thanks to. After Tony slowly ended the hug with Grace, he carefully took hold of one of her hands. Despite the improvement with the hug they just had (a hug that was initiated by Grace), deep down he was still nervous that she was going to revert back to her shy self and ignore him...but to his relief she didn't. Grace instead intertwined her fingers with his and gazed up at him with a warm like smile on her face.

If Tony's heart was able to grow larger with love much like in those old cartoons he used to watch as a kid, it would have in that moment. Seeing his daughter being more open and not shying away from him made him want to rejoice out-loud. However, now wasn't the moment to do so. Deciding to take the calm approach, Tony returned the smile back to his daughter before they slowly walked over to where his red haired assistant was standing.

As this was happening, Tony had Rhodey discreetly dismiss the hospital gurney that was making its way towards him. He certainly did not want that medical help at the moment, not that he felt like he really needed it. Tony had way more important things to focus on. Reuniting with his daughter was one of those things...and the other was seeing and speaking with Pepper again.

Rhodey lingered back, letting Tony have a moment with not only his daughter but with Pepper as well. The Colonel knew just how much those two meant to the eccentric billionaire.

Tony gave Grace's hand a gentle squeeze once the two of them stood in front of Pepper. "Your eyes are red." He pointed out bluntly. His expression was now neutral, but there was a sense of warmth in his tone of voice when speaking to Pepper. It was a tone he only ever reserved for Grace, but evidently it was also for the his red haired assistant. "A few tears for your long-lost boss?"

Pepper's features remained soft as she smiled. Her eyes glistened, but from relief. "Tears of joy. I hate job hunting."

There was a quick pause, causing Grace to look between her dad and Pepper. Grace was able to tell that there was  _something_  going on at the moment. And this  _something_ (a feeling of some sorts) had her wanting to smile even more. Except as soon as the silence started, it ended just as quickly. As did the moment between Tony and Pepper.

Her dad nodded his head and hummed. "Yeah, vacations over."

After Tony said this, he along with Grace and Pepper got into the backseat of his Rolls. Grace ended up sitting in the middle between her dad and Pepper. While Happy, who of course followed said actions, sat up front in the driver seat. Once they were all then buckled up, Happy looked into the review mirror.

"Where to, sir?" He dutifully asked.

"Take us to the hospital, please, Happy." Pepper instantly told him. Being the concern one of the bunch the first thing on her worried mind was to seek medical attention for Tony.

Tony was quick to interject. "No."

Grace who was nestled onto his good side looked up. She forced herself to not look as bemused as she felt, and to instead wait patiently for her dad to elaborate. Unlike Pepper who was just thoroughly muddled. The redhead looked at him as if he lost his mind. "No?" She repeated in disbelief. Her protectiveness for the Stark family went above surface...again. "Tony, you need to go to the hospital. The doctors have to look at you."

At the mention of going to see a doctor a sudden a sense of understanding passed through Grace. She didn't blame her dad for not wanting to go to the hospital. She herself wasn't a huge fan of doctors. Not after her mom got sick and passed away. Ever since then Grace had been scared and nervous to be around doctors. The thought alone of seeing a doctor had Grace snuggling closer to her dad. As she did this she made sure to be careful to not lean on his broken arm.

Tony remained childishly stubborn. "I don't have to do anything. I've been in captivity for three months. There are two things I want to do. I want to enjoy an American cheese burger with my daughter." Tony gazed down to look at Grace who had been gently leaning against his good side. Her dark eyes stared up to his. "You up for some burgers and fries? I'll even add a chocolate milkshake just for you." He said bopping her button shaped nose.

Grace giggled and nodded her head. In truth she didn't care what they got to eat (she just about would eat anything nowadays), just as long as her dad was there with her. She'd even eat a burger that had mayo if she really had to...and she hated mayo. It's a good thing though that she remembered her dad had the same distaste for mayo as well.

Tony was happy to hear his daughter accept the fast food request. He gave her another playful nose tap before he redirected his attention onto Pepper again. He became somewhat serious (well not really) as he spoke to her.

"And the other _―_ "

Pepper briefly closed her eyes and sighed. She already having an idea where he was going with this. "That's enough of that." She quickly dismissed him.

Tony resisted the urge to laugh at the expression her had on and instead kept his face free from any amusement. "It's not what you think. I want you to call for a press conference now."

Pepper's light green eyes widened from hearing that. "Ask for a press conference? What on earth for?"

"Alright, Happy. Onward to  _Burger King!"_ Tony exclaimed tossing Pepper's question to the side. "We got a hungry child here who wants nothing more than a burger, fries, and chocolate milkshake."

Although Grace saw the exasperated look Pepper had on, she couldn't help the small laugh that escaped her from hearing her dad talk so animatedly.

Pepper heard Grace's laugh and the urge to reprimand Tony for ignoring medical help for some out of the blue press conference lowered. It was hard to stay mad when being around a happy Grace. "Tony..." Pepper sighed, but this time it was half-hearted. She leaned back against the car seat, already forming what she was going to say in her head before making the call to schedule this press conference Tony wanted.

Once seeing that Pepper was going to comply with his request, Tony then carefully put his good arm around Grace's shoulders bringing her closer. "Hogan drive. Cheese burger first."

And that's exactly where they went.

* * *

Instead of going inside  _Burger King,_  they just went through the drive-thru. Which really was a smart thing to do. Not only did it keep them under-cover better, but they also happened to be in a hurry. On the way to the fast food restaurant, Pepper had made the call to schedule the press conference and in record timing she was informed that everything was almost done being set up.

The people or better yet the reporters who had been contacted were more than eager for the guest of honor to show up, speak, and answer all the gazillion questions they had for him.

Now said guest of honor (Tony) ended up getting an order of two Whoppers, and ordered a Whopper JR combo with fries for Grace. And to drink Tony got her chocolate shake just like he had mentioned. Since Grace shared the same appetite as her dad, she actually finished her burger way before they arrived at Stark Industries. She still however had her large fries and chocolate shake left. Tony himself had also finished one of his own burgers and had one left over when they finally arrived to said destination for the press conference.

Even before the car came to a halt, Grace saw the photographers and reporters who were impatiently waiting outside for her dad. That had her stomach in knots since she was never one for the whole  _"in your face" c_ onstant attention. A year living with her dad and she still struggled with being in the spotlight. Grace by now knew that her dad's life revolved with being in the spot light. That's what happened when your last name was Stark. Except considering he had just came back from being missing for three months, Grace also knew the attention from the public else was just going to be way more than usual.

The nervousness in Grace's stomach grew when she saw  _who_  opened the right side car door when it came to a stop. It was her dad's business partner Obadiah Stane. A small frown appeared on her face but Grace made sure to hide it well enough for no one to see. She leaned away from her dad when he slowly started to get out of the car. Grace decided to exit the other way with Pepper instead, wanting to keep her distance from Obadiah...well, as much as possible. When she came to stand next to Pepper she saw the way Obadiah greeted her dad. He had on a big smile and was pulled him into a hug. Obadiah appeared happy to see him but Grace still felt iffy towards him. Her wariness faltered and was replacement with amusement when she saw Obadiah's reaction at Happy giving her dad the last burger he had.

"You had to have a burger?" Obadiah asked.

Tony nonchalantly shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah."

"You get me one of those?" Obadiah asked as they started making their way inside.

"There's only one left and I need it." Tony easily replied back. "Grace already finished hers. She still has some fries and her chocolate milkshake left but I wouldn't dare ask." He joked. "She's very territorial when it comes to her food."

Even though Grace knew it was meant to be a joke, there was still a sense of truth there. She was one to sometimes be territorial with her food. She, however, did share. After all sharing was caring as her mom used to say. Except she only shared her food with people she liked. Needless to say Obadiah was not one of those people. Even thinking about sharing her food with him made her grip tightly onto her  _Burger King_  bag. Her other hand that was holding onto her milkshake tightened as well but she made sure to not put enough pressure to make it overflow.

Therefore, Grace certainly was  _not_  going to share her fries with Obadiah, let alone let him have her chocolate milkshake as well. He was the last person who'd she ever share her food with. Grace made a face directly aimed at Obadiah's retreating figure before she was gently ushered inside by Pepper. The redhead this time did not miss the face the six year old made. She decided to let it go at the moment and instead focus onto the press conference that was about to take place. Pepper made a mental note to bring it up later when they had a chance to speak privately.

Once inside the Stark Industries building, Pepper and Grace went to the side. From where she was standing, Grace could see how the herd of news reporters were zeroing in on her dad. Bright flashes from various cameras were going off and people were already hurriedly calling out his name. This made Grace want to tell them to back away from her dad but she managed to stop herself. She told herself that her dad being surrounded by reporters was a given. After all it's whats happened before in the past. However, Grace felt it was a bit different now considering it's been a while since she had been to something like this with him actually here. As a way to cool herself down she finished the rest of her milkshake before throwing it away by a near by trash can. Once doing that she went back to stand next to Pepper who gently brought her closer to her.

The redhead knew how uncomfortable Grace got in public gatherings like these. So she was trying to do her best in soothing any nervousness the young girl must have been feeling. The grip she had on her fast food bag was just one of the signs that made this perfectly clear. She quickly gestured to where Tony was making his way to the center stage that was in the building and she could see Grace relax from locating her dad again.

"Miss Potts?"

A male voice that neither Grace or Pepper recognized spoke. This caused the both of them to look to towards said direction, curious to see who it was. They were pleasantly surprised to see a man who appeared to be in his late thirties or early forties. He was wearing a dark grey suit and had on a serious, yet polite expression.

"Yes?" Pepper asked.

"Can I speak to you for a moment?"

Pepper looked around the room before looking back at the man. "I'm not part of the press conference, but it's about to begin."

The man shook his head. "I'm not a reporter. I'm Agent Phil Coulson with the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistic Division." He easily informed her as if saying that was an everyday thing for him.

Grace blinked a few times at this Agent Coulson fellow. She was completely awed from what she just heard. Any form of shyness she had when meeting new people disappeared for some reason. "Mister, you just said a whole lot of words." And they had been words that a simple six year old little girl could not comprehend right away.

From besides Grace, Pepper held in a laugh that wanted to escapee her. "It was quite a mouth full." She amusingly agreed with her. Even though she hadn't full out laughed, it was impossible to not sound somewhat amused by Grace's reaction.

Coulson spared Grace a glance patiently taking in what she said. By now he was used to people commenting on S.H.I.E.L.D's name length that he hardly ever made a reaction, but hearing such bewilderment from someone so young sure was somewhat amusing. He however kept his face neutral as he redirected his full attention onto Pepper again.

"I know. We're working on it." Coulson answered as he handed the red haired woman a business card.

Pepper gazed down at card before looking straight forward again. "You know, we've been approached already by the DOD, the FBI, the CIA..." She listed as if someone handing her a organization card was a everyday thing...which it kind was.

Coulson already had a reply for this. "We're a separate division with a more specific focus." He earnestly said to her. "We need to debrief Mr. Stark about the circumstances of his escape."

Grace's ears perked up when he said this. First c _aptivity_  as her dad mentioned and now e _scape_? She gripped her  _Burger King_  bag tighter. Despite being extremely relieved that her dad was alive and okay (at least he seemed like it) she still wanted to know what exactly happened to him in the past three months he had been missing.

"I'll put something in the book, shall I?" Pepper ended up complying.

Coulson appreciated that. He nodded his head. "Thank you."

There was silence between them now. The only noise being the ones coming from the reporters in front of them. From the corner of her eyes, Grace saw how Coulson was moving more further away from them to the side. Seeing this made Grace act for some reason. It was weird but out of nowhere she felt a sense of trust in her gut towards Agent Coulson. Despite just meeting him something within Grace told her that he was in the same level of trustfulness that her her dad, Pepper, and Rhodey were in. And even though it was weird she decided to not fight against this feeling.

"Would you like some fries?" Grace asked out-loud catching Agent Coulson's attention. From beside her, Pepper watched the scene attentively. She was shocked and amused to hear Grace actually offering some of her food.

Coulson blinked, thrown back but the sudden random question. He stared at her for a few seconds, thoroughly processing what she said before a small smile appeared on his face. "That's very kind of you but no thank you."

His answer did nothing to falter the sense of trust that Grace suddenly had for him. She shrugged her shoulders. "Alright." She said before reaching into her  _Burger King_ bag and munched on a few of her fries.

Coulson stared at the young Stark girl with bemusement now. When he looked at Miss Potts as a way to maybe get a form of answer from the young girl's behavior, the red haired woman just simply shrugged her shoulders. Coulson decided to leave it at that as he put space between them. He concluded from this meeting alone that Grace Stark was going to be quite the character. One who he would later realize was much like her father.

Grace's attention was soon caught when she heard her dad's voice. "Hey, would it be all right if everyone sat down? Why don't you just sit down? That way you can see me, and I can...a little less formal and..." He trailed off before taking a bite of his burger.

Grace, along with pretty much else in the building, were beyond puzzled to see Tony sitting down on the stage. He was already half-way done with his burger. As he continued eating his burger, Grace took another handful of her fries. After doing so she happily sat down on the floor. Pepper and everyone else in the room followed, their expression muddled. Once everyone had taken a seat on the floor, Rhodey discreetly walked over to where Grace and Pepper were sitting. He took a knee as he looked at the both of them.

"What's up with the love-in?" Rhodey asked. The question was more directed onto Pepper.

"Don't look at me." Pepper quietly answered him. "I don't know what he's up to."

Rhodey's eyes then shifted towards Grace. The dark haired girl felt his questioning gaze but remained nonchalant. In return she just shrugged her shoulders as she happily continued chewing on her fries. She was just as lost as everyone as when it came to her dad's eccentric behavior at the moment.

"I never got to say goodbye to my dad." Tony suddenly announced. He briefly looked Obadiah as he said this before looking to the various reporters in front of him. "I never got to say goodbye to my father." He put his remaining hamburger down as he got serious. "There's questions I would have asked him. I would have asked him how he felt about what this company did. If he was conflicted, if he ever had doubts. Or maybe he was every inch the man we all remembered from the newsreels."

Grace felt a sense of sadness go through her at the mention of her paternal grandfather. As she had come to know in the past year since living with her dad, Tony was not usually the one to openly talk about his own dad with her. Tony tended to talk more about her grandmother with the few times he had mentioned her, but not her grandfather. It made Grace wonder why that was. Maybe Tony and his dad weren't close? That was the logical reason. Whatever the reason, thinking of her both now deceased paternal grandparents made Grace feel sad. And what made things even sadder was that she knew very little about them. More so with her Grandfather Howard than with her Grandmother Maria. It made her feel awful when she found herself asking about them because she could see how affected her dad would get when talking about them. So that's why she barely asked about them. What she did know was that her Grandmother Maria was kind and understanding, while her Grandfather Howard was smart. Real smart. A trait her dad had inherited but she lacked (in her opinion anyway). And of course she knew that they ended up dying in a terrible unfortunate car crash.

A car crash that Grace wish never happened. She would have loved to have actually gotten a chance to meet them...her grandparents. Just as she would have loved to meet her maternal grandparents. Who unfortunately died years before she was born. The reason being?  _Sickness_. It was always some type of sickness when it came to her mom's side of the family.

Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted when she heard her dad's solemn voice. "I saw young Americans get killed by the very weapons I created to defend them and protect them. And I saw that I had become part of a system that is comfortable with zero accountability."

Given how resolute he looked and sounded, Grace was able to tell how serious her dad was at the moment. It was a rare thing to hear and see her dad be so serious with the public. That sort of earnest behavior was displayed only when it was just the two of them. Overall, his confession got to Grace. It made her wonder just what  _else_  her dad had seen and had been through during those three months he had been missing.

"Mr. Stark!" A male reporter from up front called out.

"Hey, Ben." Tony read his name-tag out-loud.

"What happened over there?"

Grace intently stared at her dad...waiting to hear his response. That was a question she out of all the people in the room wanted to know.

Tony looked around the room, his dark eyes catching sight of his daughter. For a few seconds there he stared at her, allowing him to gain more emotional strength. He cleared her throat as he looked at the reporters again. "I had my eyes opened." He vehemently announced. "I came to realize that I have more to offer this world than just making things that blow up. And that is why, effective immediately, I am shutting down the weapons manufacturing division of Stark International."

That immediately caused a riot with the reporters who were now all standing. As Tony was expecting it would and he was very much prepared for. As he stood up again, Obadiah made his way towards him. No doubt to gain control of the whole ordeal, but Tony calmly talked over the commotion he had created. "Until such a time as I can decide what the future of the company will be. What direction it should take, one that I'm comfortable with and is consistent with the highest good for this country, as well."

After Tony finished saying that he walked off the stage, leaving Obadiah to finally hush down the reporters. "What we should take away from this is that Tony's back!" Obadiah exclaimed. "And he's healthier than ever. We're gonna have a little internal discussion and we'll get back to you with the follow up." That did nothing to quiet down the questions all the various reporters were shouting.

With all the nonsense that was happening, Grace kept her cool. She no longer was sitting on the floor (neither were Pepper and Rhodey), nor was she eating her fries. Despite this, Grace wasn't a blabbering mess like all the reporters. At least she wasn't on the outside. Sure, inside Grace was having all sorts of thoughts and feelings, but she managed to keep all of them to herself. Much like Pepper and Rhodey, who were silent. Just by looking at the two of them, Grace could very much tell her dad's announcement surprised them.

And despite her young age, Grace Stark had a feeling things were about to change even more drastically now.


	4. Making up for lost time

Once the press conference was over, Tony finally gave in (reluctantly) to Pepper's request to go to the hospital. He made a show in front of Pepper and Grace before arriving to the hospital. There was only one doctor he was going to let check him over. This happened to be Dr. Anderson, a thirty something year old raven haired woman from Cherokee descent. She was one of the few doctors Tony could thoroughly trust.

Despite trusting Dr. Anderson completely _―_ with her knowing all about her past medical history _―_ Tony still didn't know a lot about her personal life. Which was understandable given that Dr. Anderson was very... _stoic_. The level of professionalism on that woman was very high. Except that was why he preferred her from any other doctors out there. Even if she needed to crack a damn smile every now and then. Dr. Anderson took her job very seriously, making her patients top priority. Plus due to Dr. Anderson's serious demeanor she was easy to mess with. Although not all the jokes Tony told got a joyful reaction...actually they never got a joyful reaction out of her. Which really wasn't at all surprising but that certainly didn't stop him from cracking his jokes and his lighthearted teasing. Not even when he went to get looked over.

Needless to say Dr. Anderson was greatly surprised to see what was now present on the middle of his chest. However, she did a good job on quickly covering up any shock that appeared on her face. Tony couldn't help but comment on the bewildered shock expression that he was able to catch, saying she was showing emotion for the first time since meeting her. This of course resulted in Dr. Anderson giving him a unimpressed expression before continuing her check up on him, as if she had not discovered anything out of the ordinary.

Yup, Dr. Anderson sure was stoic human being...and Tony Stark was strangely grateful for that. Not only did she not react badly but Tony knew she wouldn't go blabbing her mouth away. That just wasn't the kind of person she was.

It wasn't until a couple of hours later (after his check up) that Tony returned back to his home in Malibu with Grace and Pepper.

The car ride back home had been very insightful. Grace's attachment towards him did not lessen at all. She still held his good hand tightly with one of her own. His daughter also kept happily engaging in conversation with him. And as this happened Grace mentioned several things. One of the topics that stood to Tony the most was how during his absence Grace had learned Spanish. Something his daughter took upon herself to learn on her own. It amazed Tony how she was able to pick up a second language so quickly and without anyone's help. He, however, wasn't really surprised. His daughter, after all, was very smart.

All the books Grace has read proved that. Books which have multiplied during his absence. Even though she struggled in the math and science department (as he noticed before his disappearance), Tony knew his daughter was a very bright child. It didn't matter if Grace didn't share the same passion he had for science and math. Grace was her own person. And that in no way made Tony look down or think less of his daughter.

Another thing that Grace mentioned was that Rhodey had been kind enough to teach her how to ride a bike. Which was yet another activity Grace was able to catch onto fairly quickly. Although it deeply saddened Tony that it hadn't been him to have taught Grace how to ride a bike, he was at least somewhat happy that it had been Rhodey. He knew Grace viewed Rhodey as a sort of uncle figure. However, Tony still felt sad that he had missed out on that. He, after all, hadn't been present in Grace's first five years of life on account of her mother Louisa keeping her existence from him. Something that would  _forever_  cause anger and guilt to reside within Tony. But like the letter Louisa had given him (a heart-felt letter he still kept) when Grace first came into his life at the age of five, there was a reason for this. Except that did nothing to lessen Tony's fervent emotions. Not when it came to Grace.  _His_  daughter.

Now adding to those five years without Tony in Grace's life were these three months from which he had been held under captivity. Despite that not being as long as five years, three months to Tony still felt like a life time. Especially because of the horrible conditions he had been in. Tony, however, gained a lot from that experience. He realized he had work to do. But besides finally coming to terms with the Arc Reactor (which was something he still needed to talk to Grace about), he realized something else. This was a realization Tony had made long before but since coming back home it left him even more determined to go through with it. And that was that Tony was going to make sure that he no longer missed any more moments with Grace. He wanted to make up for the time he had missed with her and he was going to make sure he did so.

Despite feeling like a lousy father for the time he had missed with Grace _―_ especially with him not being able to teach her how to ride a bike _―_ Tony just kept telling himself that there would be other things he could teach Grace himself. Thus, allowing more opportunities for them to spend time together. More father-daughter moments. Which started the moment they arrived.

Even though Tony wanted to go to his bedroom and let sleep take over he pushed away any tiredness he had. Along with the learning Spanish and learning how to ride a bike, Grace also mentioned about all the painting she had done. Her excitement with wanting to show him of course not only made Tony happy on the outside but also on the inside.

Tony happily followed his daughter into her room. Once inside he noticed that Grace's bedroom hadn't changed a lot. The only difference was the amount of books that were in there. As well the number of painting that were displayed on her walls. It was obvious by just one look alone that Grace's painting skills had gotten way better. Not that they weren't before. It's just now one could truly see the talent the young girl had. Tony was vastly impressed.

To Tony's surprise and joy he spent the next couple of hours in Grace's room. Just talking...catching up. It was nice having a simple yet meaningful moment with his daughter. It was exactly what he needed...not sleep. However, much to his amusement it appeared that one of them actually did need the rest. Grace. His daughter had fallen asleep when he had began reading _Charlotte's Web._ She knocked out sometime during the fourth chapter. Luckily for Tony, Grace was already in bed so that saved him the challenge of having to carry her. It would have been difficult given his injured arm at the moment.

Putting the book to the side, Tony then pulled the blankets to cover his daughter. As he was smiling down at her peaceful form, a familiar voice filled the room.

"She's never going to leave your side now, you know." Pepper softly told him. The red head was leaning against the bedroom door entrance. She had been silently admiring the sweet scene that was occurring right in front of her before she finally made her presence known.

Tony smiled. "I know." He answered having no issues with that whatsoever. After he said this he continued to look down at his sleeping daughter. He gently moved a piece of her wavy hair away from her face. It still amazed Tony how much Grace looked like him. Grace had his dark eyes, hair-color, and even the same nose. However, if Tony were to really analyze Grace he'd be able to see some of Louisa's features as well. The type of hair style Grace had being the most distinct feature from her mother. Grace's hair (although a dark brown like Tony's) was wavy and curly like Louisa's used to be.

Another feature Grace had inherited from her mother were her dimples. Beautiful dimples. As Tony would call them. He remembered how much he liked Louisa's dimples when she had smiled. It's what made Louisa standout when he first met her all those years ago. When she had smiled sweetly at him from across the room they had been in. It hadn't been a flirtatious smile. Unlike the coy smiles he would get from women whenever he went out. No, Louisa's smile had been a genuine one, and it was a smile that made Tony want to talk to her and get to know her. And ultimately he did that and it was nice...for awhile. Tony hadn't intended anything serious with Louisa but sometimes things turn out differently than what people expect. Sometimes for the worse...and other times for the better.

The few memories Tony had of Louisa weren't bad ones. As a matter of fact they were nice memories. Despite the short time they had together, Tony did come to like Louisa. She was different...but sadly that uniqueness she had wasn't enough to make him stay. An action Tony had come to regret for various reasons. If he was able to go back in time and be there for Louisa when she had been diagnosed with leukemia he would have done so, no questions asked. Ever since Grace came into his life, Tony  _wished_  he had been there for Louisa and Grace since the beginning. Except Louisa was now gone...and all Tony had to remember the delightful woman that changed his life were the memories he had with her _―_ as well as Grace...their daughter.

Yes, thinking about Louisa was bittersweet. Mainly because despite the reminder that Louisa was now gone forever, thinking about her made Tony shortly then think about someone else. Someone who wasn't Grace and this certain someone was a person Tony wasn't too fond of. A person he wanted nowhere near his daughter. "I'm sure he saw the news." Tony suddenly said in a firm voice. All the tenderness he had from spending time with his daughter disappeared in an instant. His gaze shifted away from Grace onto Pepper instead. He gave his red haired assistant one his more serious faces. "Did he try contacting?"

Pepper maintained her professional exterior with the sudden topic of conversation. It shocked her a little to hear and see Tony lose that less serious demeanor he always had going on. However, she wasn't that surprised as to why the sudden mood change and question. She knew exactly  _who_  Tony was referring to. "Once." She solemnly admitted to him. "He called sometime during the first month of your disappearance. Asked if he could talk to Grace but I didn't let that happen." Pepper answered earnestly. "I noticed that he sounded..." She gazed intently into his dark brown eyes, giving him a knowing look. "Out of it."

A flash of anger passed through Tony's eyes. He had a pretty good guess as to  _why_ Miguel had been acting so zany over the phone. This guess he had was the reason why he and Pepper wanted Miguel far away from Grace. Why, despite the animosity Tony felt for Miguel, he had offered his help many times before. Tony felt he owed it to Louisa to help her younger brother (the only relative Grace had left on her mother's side of the family). However, no matter how many times Tony offered to help him, Miguel rejected the offer over and over again. The man was as stubborn as a bull...or just plain stupid. Tony assumed the worst.

Even though he thought this way of Miguel, Tony knew based on what he was able to get out of Grace from the past, was that she thought of the world of her Uncle Miguel. His daughter had nothing but good things to say about her uncle. Grace thought he was a good person...and maybe Miguel was a good person. But he certainly had a lot of issues. Issues that Miguel had brought upon himself with the choices he had made. And one of those awful choices almost cost Grace her life when she had just been a baby. Thank God Louisa had been there...otherwise...well, Tony didn't even want to think about it.

Despite Grace being alive and well, Tony was still angered that she had been in that type of situation...and all because of her dear Uncle Miguel. That was something Tony was never going to let go, let alone forgive him. If one day, Miguel were to ever get his act straight, then Tony would allow visitations (heavily watched of course), but he would never seek friendship with that man. Ever. And he would only arrange these visitations if Grace wanted them...and he hoped they would never occur. But he knew better than to think they wouldn't happen eventually.

Still, it angered Tony greatly that Miguel had called, especially when under that kind of condition. And to talk to Grace of all people...it just wasn't acceptable. Tony in the past hardly ever had to worry about Miguel trying to make contact. Miguel either must have seen the news about his disappearance and felt he needed to make sure Grace was okay...or he was too out of his mind to even think straight and just called for the hell of it. Tony liked to think he called for the first choice but he knew better than to think that way. That just didn't seem like something Miguel García would do...not when sober anyways.

Tony sighed letting his anger leave little by little. He looked down at his sleeping daughter. It caused him to feel pain knowing that someday he was going to have to tell Grace the truth regarding her dear Uncle Miguel. The heavy heart-breaking truth that would probably cause her great emotional pain considering how much she cared for him. Grace only knew the good side of her uncle. She had yet to know the bad side, and as much as Tony wanted to keep quiet he just couldn't. Not forever anyways. Hopefully when she did learn the truth, whenever that would be, (he hoped it would be years from now) that she'd be able to handle it and carry on. Until then Tony was going to make sure to keep this Miguel drama away from his daughter.

"Grace asked about him a few times." Pepper suddenly said, wanting to be honest.

Tony eyes went towards Pepper again. What she said put him a little on edge. He walked over towards her. "What you'd tell her?" He asked leaning the opposite from where she was at. By now her posture had been straighten out and her facial expression had become one of resolute.

"I'd just try to keep the response short, or move the conversation along." Pepper answered him honestly.

Tony greatly appreciated this. He started to feel guilt but he quickly shook it off. Yes, it did feel a little wrong to keep Grace away from her uncle, but Tony kept telling himself that it was for a good reason. He wasn't about to put Grace's life in danger again because of Miguel. He nodded his head. "Do you know if he's still in the same place?" He asked Pepper.

Pepper let out a sigh. She kept her light green eyes onto his dark eyes. "The phone he used had the area code of Chicago."

Tony nodded his head again. He wasn't at all surprised to hear this. Miguel was a skilled traveler. Even with the low amount of money he had, Miguel knew how to get around. The last time Tony had actually talked to Miguel (which had been over the phone) he had been in Los Angeles, but that was  _months_  ago. Tony of course had an idea as to why Miguel had been in Los Angeles. It had been around the time Louisa had passed away. Maybe he was paying tribute to his sister or something.

Tony didn't really know. It was hard to really understand Miguel anyways. What Tony did know was that Los Angeles had been where the García siblings had grown up. As Tony had come to learn during the fling he had with Louisa all those years ago, her parents had been from Durango, Mexico _._ Although she had been born in Durango (something she took great pride in), when around the age of five her parents were approved their Visas and came to the United States. They had moved to Los Angeles, which was where she was raised and where her younger brother Miguel had been born as well.

The same place Grace had been born and where Louisa had raised her all on her own up until Grace was five years old. When he had learned that he hadn't been that far away from his daughter, Tony had been flabbergasted. He of course didn't know about her existence but to learn that Grace had been that close to him...it just made him feel various of emotions. Tony wanted to feel only anger towards Louisa, but anger wasn't the only emotion he felt. And as much as Tony wanted to hate Louisa for not telling him about Grace sooner, hating her was never option. Not fully anyways. And as he said before, Louisa had her reasons as to why she kept Grace's existence a secret from him.

Louisa despite being unique was also a complex human being. At least Tony seemed to think so. She didn't fall for the usual charm he pulled on women. She was smart. Which was one of things that Tony admired about Louisa. Another was how hard she worked in order to get by in life. During their time together the Hispanic woman told him about the struggles she went through in order to get a proper education. It wasn't easy for her given her nationality and all.

However, despite the challenges Louisa faced she was able to move forward and get a scholarship for her college education. So yes, Louisa García had been an independent hard working woman _―_ even before the birth of Grace. Miguel, however, lacked that hard working skill Louisa had once had. He was the complete opposite of Louisa. Tony at times wondered how they were even related...it was absurd.

But this new information that Pepper gave him of Miguel being in Chicago was good. There was a high possibility that he wasn't there anymore, but he figured he'd still be somewhere far away. Nowhere near Malibu he hoped. The farther away Miguel was from Grace the better. Perhaps he would try contacting again now that he had returned, but if that were to happen Tony wouldn't let Miguel talk to Grace. Not until he fixed himself. If he ever fixed himself, because Grace did not need the negativity Miguel would bring into her life. No, she certainly did not.

Tony's expression softened as he refocused on Pepper again. His kindhearted assistant. It occurred to Tony that he hadn't properly thanked her for looking out for his daughter. Which was something he  _really_  needed to do. Pepper meant a lot to him. Even if he hardly ever verbally made that clear, it was the truth. He honestly had no idea what he would do without her in his and Grace's life. They'd be lost without her...he would be lost.

"Thank you for being there for her." Tony softly said earning a small smile from Pepper. "For looking after her. I...I am eternally grateful for your help." He basked in that gift of a expression she had on before speaking again. His voice lowering with what he said next. "If it weren't for you she would have gone with  _him_. Not that I think he'd actually want the full responsibility. He wouldn't have been able to handle it. But who knows what would have happened if she had gone with him."

Pepper hated to think the same thing. Just the different scenarios of Grace with her uncle ran through her head, and she didn't like any of them. She shook her head, gaining composure again. "You don't have to thank me." She told Tony. "I looked after Grace because she means so much to me. I care for her."

_Like a mother cares for a daughter._ Is what Pepper wanted to say but she decided to keep that part to herself. Her shyness getting the better of her. "I would have taken full responsibility if need be." Pepper said, her voice wavering a bit towards the end. It hurt to think about Tony never returning...but that wasn't the case. Not anymore. "But you're here now." She said pushing back tears and giving him another relieved smile. "And that's all that matters."

Tony found himself smiling back. He wanted to say so much more to Pepper, but at the moment he felt that the silence between them was more meaningful. Besides, a lot can be said through silence, or so he read that somewhere...actually in one of Grace's book. Go figure. His thoughts went back to Grace again. He glanced over to his sleeping daughter. She looked so peaceful and there was no doubt happiness still resided within her. It made him want to always keep her feeling this way. Never sad. He never wanted to cause her sadness again. He knew though it was impossible to stop her from feeling sadness (especially when still a kid) but he was going to try his best to prevent that from happening. And he knew exactly how to do that.

Tony promised to himself that he was going to be a better father than his own. He in no way was going to be like Howard on regards with how he was going to treat his daughter. Grace would know nothing but love and support. And when she needed him, he'd be there for her.

Like Tony had promised Grace, he was here now. And he wasn't going to leave her. Not again.


	5. Changes are happening

If someone at this very second were to have asked Grace how she was feeling her answer would been that she was concerned. Really concerned because she wasn't just a bit concerned. Her saying that last part would have been a major understatement. The truth was that the six year old was way more than just a  _bit_  concerned. Except not only was she concerned but she was also very curious.

And why would that be? Well as of lately the young girl had taken notice how her dad had been acting... _weird_. Except saying that specific word (even thinking it in her head) didn't necessarily feel right to Grace. As she'd come to know, Tony Stark was very much considered weird by many _―_ including herself but that was more out of affection towards her dad. However, as Grace would come to realize, that whole eccentric demeanor Tony had going on was also going to start showing up within herself as she continued to grow out of her shell.

Perhaps the right word to use with how she was feeling at the moment would be  _secretive._ It made total sense to her as to why that word fit perfectly since her dad had been acting  _secretive_  towards her. He was being way more secretive than before his three month disappearance. Now it wasn't like her dad was fully ignoring her...because he wasn't. It was quite the opposite actually. They were spending a lot more time together...but really any time they spent now would definitely be considered a lot more than before.

Nonetheless, Grace was happy with the progress her dad and her had been making.

Since his return she'd been practically glued to his side. Not really leaving him during the day unless some very important work matters came up. But even then, as she witnessed with her own eyes, her dad always tried pushing away business matter until the very last second. They'd spend the day doing all sorts of random bonding activities.

Her favorite way of spending time with her dad though was by watching movies together. This of course would later turn into a tradition with not only her dad but with a larger group of people that would enter her life. People who she would eventually consider as family. However, for the time being it was just Grace and her dad. The genres of movies they watched somewhat varied. From action to comedies and even dramas. Her dad had made sure the movies they watched were not only age appropriate for her but that they were also considered classics. As her dad said in his own words, all the movies he chose happened to be _"Tony Stark approved."_

Besides the classics, they did watch a lot of  _Disney_  movies. Grace had told her dad that she wasn't a major fan of the  _Disney_  princess movies. She still liked Disney but she preferred watching non-Disney princess movies like  _Lilo and Stitch, Alice in Wonderland, Toys_  Story, and etc. She even preferred to watch  _Bambi_. Well, okay maybe not  _Bambi_. At least not anymore. That movie for Grace was now difficult to watch for obvious reasons. It was the same exact reason why she couldn't watch  _The Land Before Tim_ e without crying her eyes out. Those two movies hit her right in the heart because they reminded of her mother and how she wasn't there with her anymore.

Now for the most part all the bonding she did with her dad brought nothing but positivity. Except that all took place during day time. Night time was a completely different story. Which was where the concern and curiosity had sprouted from. Despite her dad being the one to last see her before her supposed bedtime, Grace had been swift enough to notice how he always descended down to his lab. Another thing she took notice to was how much time he spent down in the lab at night. At first it didn't really click in her six year old head about how odd that was. Her dad, after all, had always spent a lot of time in the lab even before his three month absence.

However, she quickly came to realize how things weren't exactly the same as before. Deep down she knew things were different now. Grace was so tempted to barge into the lab to see what her dad was doing but she knew that was a huge no no. At least not without his permission to enter his working area. Grace told herself that her dad wouldn't harshly reprimanded if she did decide to pop in. Except when it came down to act on such an idea it seemed that she wasn't going to take any chances. Especially not since everything between them had been great.

Grace debated on asking Pepper if she could talk to her dad for her. Pepper was always one to enter and leave his lab, so Grace figured she would be the right person to ask. Not to mention, just the other day Grace overheard her dad call for Pepper to come down to the lab. Something about the older woman having small hands? Grace couldn't make out why exactly her dad had asked Pepper if she had small hands but with the way he asked that question to the redhead, Grace knew it had to be urgent.

After whatever was needed with the help of Pepper's apparently small hands, Grace tried speaking with her. That didn't end up happening. Pepper had been in such a hurry and politely excused herself, continuing her way further into the extravagant Malibu home. The idea of asking Pepper to talk to her dad for her was then disregarded and Grace was left to swim with her building concern and curiosity.

Despite not getting the chance to ask Pepper what she wanted, attempting to at least ask her proved to be without waste. The young girl had not only seen how discombobulated the older woman had been but also how she was trying her best to hide whatever she was carrying in her hands. Unfortunately Grace didn't get a good look at whatever Pepper had been carrying, but whatever it was she knew it was something her dad must have given her. Something Pepper's small hands were able to grab without causing major damage.

After that Grace's mind settled down somewhat. Maybe all her dad was working on was a new project? It seemed to be the logical answer. That thought didn't fully calm down her concern and curiosity. Grace by this point was done with guessing...she wanted to find out what exactly was going on.

That's why when Grace woke up that morning (after doing her usual morning wake up routine) she headed to the kitchen. The one place the six year old knew her dad would meet her for breakfast. The two of them have been eating breakfast together everyday now since her dad's return. Sometimes even Pepper would join them but not today. It seemed the redhead was extra busy this morning. By the time the young Stark girl arrived to the kitchen her hunger was causing her major impatience. She actually started to make breakfast all alone. Well...she tried to. Grace didn't very far.

The sight of her moving around in the kitchen caught Tony by surprise. He immediately made his way towards where his daughter was standing behind the kitchen counter. He hurriedly said the usual good morning to her before he headed straight to his question.

"What are you doing, sweetie?"

"Trying to make something to eat." Grace answered as she pulled out a cooking pan from underneath the counter they were behind.

"Need an extra hand?" Tony asked her. Even though it was a question and if she were to say no, he was still going to lend a hand. It didn't matter that he lacked major kitchen skills. There was no way he was about to let a six year old make breakfast all on her own. Usually their breakfast was already made on the orders of Tony by the cooking staff he had but it was a Sunday. On Sundays now Tony and Grace usually either went out to eat or ordered in. However, it appeared that his daughter wanted to stay home for breakfast today and prepared their meals herself...with his help now, of course.

Grace was quiet before she gave her dad a smile. "Sure."

"What are you in the mood for?" Tony asked as he went to open the fridge.

Grace's dark brown eyes twinkled. "Something with cheese."

Tony briefly paused his movements. After processing what was said he turned to look at his daughter. "Cheese?" He asked, amused.

Grace nodded her head.

That wasn't at all what Tony was expecting to hear from her. He thought she would say she wanted cereal, pancakes, waffles even...but no his daughter apparently wanted something with cheese. What a funny little thing she was. Tony ended smiling up returning a smile to his daughter. "Okay..." He answered and then turned his attention to inside the fridge. The carton of eggs that was in there lined up with his gaze. "How about I make us some cheese omelettes?"

Hearing her dad say that made an unsure expression appear on Grace's face. The twinkle that had been in her eyes dimmed. "I don't know." She softly replied causing her dad to look at her again. When she saw that his attention was on her again she spoke in a much even toned voice. "You burned the last two omelettes you tried to make for us."

Tony let out a gasp, pretending to be offended by what she just said. "I did not!"

"Yes, you did." Grace said not skipping a beat. The twinkle her eyes had began to reappear again by the humor that was now going on in their conversation.

Tony basked the humorous moment they were having. Since his return the both of them have been getting along better and their conversations often had a lot of humor in them. Humor that was now becoming a father and daughter thing. The close relationship they were forming was one he never wanted to return to how it was before. He fought off wanting to laugh by releasing a loud huff. His "offended" act was still there as he continued to speak. "Fine, but that was only because I felt rushed."

That caused Grace's lips to tug upwards again in amusement. "Dad, it took you nearly three hours to make them."

Tony felt the love he had for his daughter grow even more when she called him dad. Grace had been calling him that a lot more and it was something Tony would never tired of hearing. The whimsical moment they were having went on. "Come on, don't be so dramatic." Tony answered, nonchalantly. "It was more like  _two_." After he said neither of them were able to contain their smiles. Tony let out a chuckle as Grace then let out a giggle. "I promise to do my best this time." He told her once they were able to compose themselves.

"Alright, but only if you use  _Velveeta_  cheese." Grace brightly told him.

Tony couldn't help the sense of nostalgia that ran through him when she said this. It was true that he was never one for admitting getting nostalgic but that's what he was at the moment. His own father loved that type of cheese brand. Howard used it whenever he ate cheese omelette's and even grilled cheese sandwiches. It seemed that Grace shared the same love for the cheese brand her grandfather once had.

Tony looked into the fridge again and as luck would have it said item was in there behind the milk. "We have two packs in the fridge."

"Great!" Grace exclaimed.

This time (much to Grace's relief) it didn't take two or even three hours for her dad to make their cheese omelettes. With the help of Grace they were made in good timing. The best part was that the omelettes weren't burned either. Which was something Grace was very happy about. Once serving and finishing their breakfast, Grace decided now to talk things with her dad.

Putting aside her now empty breakfast plate, Grace looked at her dad. Her bottom shifted on the seat she was sitting on due to nervousness. "Dad?"

Tony swallowed the last remaining piece from his breakfast before answering his daughter. Yes, sweetie?"

Grace made sure to sound as serious as possible with what she said next. "I wanna talk."

"Okay..." Tony locked direct eye contact with her. His gaze despite being steady was also soft. "You know you can talk to me about anything. What's up?"

"Well, it's about...you know." Grace lamely finished saying. She inwardly scoffed for not being able to phrase her wording better.

Despite Grace not liking how she sounded, Tony knew right away to what she had been referring to. The Stark man felt like such a terrible dad again. He had been letting his time in the lab get to him. Not to mention he had been really enjoying spending time with his daughter. Not that the second reasoning was a bad, let alone an excuse, because it wasn't. He put the blame more on the lab rather than his daughter because that's what he figured made him completely put that important conversation he needed to have with her off for too long. Tony could no longer put off what needed to be done. It was now time for him to finally tell Grace what he had gone through, and what he had been trying to do in his lab lately.

"How about we go into the living room?" Tony suggested, to which Grace nodded her head right away.

It was then there that they finally talked things out. As they sat down on the couch, Tony opened up to his daughter with what he had gone through during his kidnapping, and of the results. Some might say that telling such things to a six year was not a wise thing to do but as Tony had come to know Grace was very mature for her age. Besides, it wasn't like he was going into real detail. He just told her enough for her to get an understanding. But even if he had gone into full detail he knew she would have been able to handle it well. She was a Stark after all. Not to mention she had her mother's characteristics...and from what he remembered, Louisa had been one tough woman.

The living room became quiet after Tony had finished telling Grace the part about him now studying the arc reactor that was in his chest. He figured Grace's first comment or question would be about that but to his surprise it hadn't.

"Yinsen, sounds like an honorable man." Grace ended up telling her dad.

Tony was impressed at how well Grace was taking everything. He wasn't in any sort of disbelief because as he already knew Grace was very mate for her age. Though, it touched Tony how thankful she sounded when saying Yinsen's name. At this young age his daughter was already twice the kindhearted person he should have been.

"He was." Tony confirmed. Not soon after he said this he began mourning the man's had to remind himself that Yinsen's death was not a wasted one, and that in him doing so it allowed Tony to be reunited with his daughter.

"He saved you." Grace earnestly said.

What he had just thought repeated in Tony's head. "He did."

Grace's eyes softened. "Do you think he's in heaven now?" She asked her dad. In her young mind she told herself that Yinsen was in a better place now. Heaven as she imagined. Her mom Louisa had been Catholic and she always talked about heaven with Grace whenever they would go to church on Sunday mornings. Grace liked to think that's where her mom was as well. Her mom had been a good person, and this Yinsen man saved her dad, which meant he was good too. Despite having her own beliefs, Grace wanted to hear what her dad had to say. He was a smart man and his answer would surely be one that would bring comfort of some sorts.

Unbeknownst to Grace, Tony was at loss for words. Which was something that hardly ever happened. Grace's question had been so random and so innocent that it threw Tony off. He himself had never been a religious man. If anything he did his best to stay away from religion but of course he knew others didn't share the same opinion as him. Tony couldn't also just assume what Yinsen's religion was (or if he was even religious in the first place), but the man did say he was at peace with himself knowing he was going to see his family again. It was that information that allowed Tony to finally answer his daughter's question.

"I think he's found peace now." Tony solemnly told his daughter. "Wherever that might be."

Grace nodded, accepting such an answer. Tony quietly let out a breath of relief that she hadn't pushed for a longer answer. Despite making progress with his daughter, Tony still needed to prepare himself for the more serious discussions that he would later surely have with her. He definitely was not looking forward to the whole "you're growing up to be a young lady" conversation. Perhaps Pepper would do him a huge favor (or even take pity on him) and have that one with her instead.

"So, does that make you a superhero now?" Grace questioned as she pointed to the middle of his chest. Specifically she was pointing to the bright blue light that was underneath the  _Queen_  band t-shirt he had on.

This time Tony was not thrown off by her question. It was the one he had expecting to hear. "I'm not sure superhero would be the correct term to use, sweetie. As I said I'm still trying to figure this whole thing out." Tony said gently tapping the arc reactor. "See what I am capable of doing." Obadiah had been pestering him since arriving home in having a whole team of engineers analyze his arc reactor. Tony each time denied such a request. This was something he needed to do on his own.

"Well, it's cool to think of you as a superhero." Grace said in excitement. Her dark brown eyes now gleamed with happiness. "Just like Captain America!" She added with admiration.

Tony did his best to bury down any annoyance that wanted to come out of hiding from within. Growing up all his father ever did was talk about how amazing Captain America was.  _Captain America this, Captain America that._  Now Howard for the most part was very cold and calculating towards Tony. He hardly ever said he loved him. Which was something Tony had already told himself he wouldn't be like that when it came to Grace. Tony was going to be a good father to his daughter. He wouldn't be distant with her the way his own father was with him. The same father who loved talking more about a super-solider who he had been close friends with during World War II, than his own blood related son.

Suffice to say that Tony ended up resenting Steve Rogers. Tony though had done a great job at forgetting that resentment over the years. However, having his own daughter fangirling over Captain America (almost exactly as his father had done) brought back the resentment from his past with a strong force. He already had to deal with his father admiring the super-solider, the last thing Tony wanted was for his own daughter to start idolizing him as well. Tony needed a brief moment to compose himself.

"I don't have super strength or anything remotely close to what he was able to do, sweetie." Tony answered calmly as possible, once controlling the annoyance that was daring to escape. "At least not yet." He added that last part more to himself. In his mind, Tony was now more determined to prove that he was indeed capable of doing that. Perhaps with even having more abilities...like flying. Oh how amazing that would be to surpass the great Captain America.

"Oh." Grace mumbled. She was quiet for a few seconds before clearing her throat. Her gaze on her dad was once again soft. "I mean, you don't technically need powers to be a superhero." She earnestly informed her dad.

She had a point there. Tony nodded his head. "That's true."

"Or a cape." Grace added rather quickly.

Tony couldn't help the laugh that escaped him. The harsh emotions he had regarding Captain America were beginning to vanish. His daughter's comments were lighthearted enough for that to happen. "That's right or a cape."

"Well, it doesn't matter if you have powers or not." Grace announced with sincerity. "To me you'll always be a superhero because you're my dad."

The edges of Tony's eyes crinkled due to how much he was smiling. As soon as his daughter finished saying that he had brought her into a hug. Since he was now in much better condition than when he first arrived, Tony was able to use both his arms when hugging his daughter.

"I love you, dad." Grace softly said.

Tony had to tell himself to not cry. He would never get tired of hearing that either. There had already been enough tears shed between the two of them. This kind of moment they were having was heartfelt but it was the good kind of heartfelt, not the sad kind. Tony continued to hug his daughter as the next words left him with such easiness. "I love you too."

The hug between dad and daughter lasted for a few more seconds before it finally came to an end. When it dad Tony was surprised to see his daughter practically jump from the couch and headed towards the kitchen again.

A bemused expression was now on his face. "What are you doing now?"

Grace ducked underneath the kitchen counter and began going through the things inside the cabinet. "I want to thank Rhodey." She merrily announced and as she did so, she set a huge bag of flour on top of the kitchen counter. Rhodey had also helped her dad by being the one to have found him. He was very much a good person like Yinsen was.

Tony looked at the flour bag, perplexed. "By giving him a sack of flour? How very thoughtful of you."

Grace giggled, finding her dad's reply to be quite hilarious. "No silly. By baking him cupcakes."

Tony tilted his head a bit processing what she just said. "You're going to bake him cupcakes?" A warm smile spread on his face. His daughter was just too adorable and innocent at times...scratch that all the times. That was something he never wanted to see change about her, especially as she continued to grow up.

"Not just any kind of cupcakes, but thank you for saving my dad cupcakes." Grace told her dad. If Yinsen had been alive, Grace would have made him a batch of cupcakes as well. A whole cake too. She would even throw in cookies. All of which were thank yous for him saving her dad. Though she knew that was hardly enough to repay Yinsen for helping her dad. Except it was the thought that counted, right? Sadly, Yinsen wasn't there to accept all her thank yous. Grace only had the reassurance that wherever he was (whether in heaven or some magical place) he was at peace now.

"Alright, well count me in." Tony said in a upbeat voice as he got from the couch.

"I can do this by myself, dad." Grace assured as she grabbed a mixing spoon and bowl.

"No, I want to help." Tony insisted. "After all, I am the one Rhodey saved. Which I am eternally grateful for. Besides..." Tony said taking the more lighter approach now. "The last thing I need is for you to burn down our kitchen."

In response to this, Grace flicked some flour onto her dad's face.

Tony laughed and did the same.

Laughter echoed in the Stark kitchen as they started the cupcake baking process. Needless to say when Pepper finally returned she was not at all pleased with the messy state the kitchen had been left in.


End file.
